~~ The Nightless City,or "The History of the Yoshiwara Yukwaku"
by an English Student of Sociology ~~

(Joseph Ernest De Becker), 1899, First Edition

De Becker, Joseph Ernest:The Nightless City, or the History of the Yoshiwara Yukwaku by an English Student of Sociology, Yokohama, Z.P. Maruya & Co. Ltd., printed by the Yokohama Bunsha, Yokohama, 1899, 1st Edition, small 8vo (6 1/4 x 8 1/4 in - 15.5 x 21 cm), red blindstamped cloth with black and gilt decoration and lettering on covers and spine, cover edges beveled, page edges untrimmed, title page printed in color, 20 plates (9 color, 11 black and white), numerous woodcut text illustrations, 3 page introduction by the author, 441 numbered pages of text and a 22 page appendix. The color plates are well executed chromo-lithographs (5 fold out, 2 double page, 2 single page). Ten of the black and white page are collotypes (3 double page, 7 single page). The 11th black and white plate is a wood engraved plan of the Shin-Yoshiwara (double page). The appendix has several articles including "The Medical Aspect" of the Yoshiwara and is 19 pages (I-XIX) in length. It is followed by three pages of "Kapproe Dance Set to Foreign Music" which has two pages of a musical score. The plate titled "A street scene in the Yoshiwara a hundred years ago" is based upon a drawing by Kitagawa Utamaro.

As much a guide book to the Yoshiwara (red light district) of Tokyo as it is a history. The book traces the history, traditions, customs and practices of the Yoshiwara in great detail. It also contains much practical information such as a map/plan of the new Yoshiwara district, the classes of brothels and prostitutes, the meaning of signs in the district, sundry useful sentences like "don't try and make a fool of me" translated into Japanese, the hiring of a jinrikisha to and from the district and an illustrated section on understanding the "signs and cyphers showing the fees of the courtesans."

This book had great appeal to a wide universe of readers ranging from the sailor on leave in Tokyo to the scholar in an academic setting studying Japanese culture. I suspect that is why it went through several printings over the years.

1. Procession of Courtesans i
2. The "O-mon" (or entrance gateway) of the Yoshiwara 16
3. Plan of the Shin-Yoshiwara 32
4. Main Street of the Yoshiwara (Naka-no-cho) 48
5. Ancient "Shirabyoshi" 64
6. "Yobidashi" of the Yoshiwara 80
7. Courtesans in their "cages" 112
8. Geisha dancing the "Kappore" 144
9. Outside of a third-class brothel at night 160
10. Scenes in a hikite-jaya 192
11. A rainy day in the Yoshiwara 208
12. Scenes in a brothel 224
13. A street scene in the Yoshiwara a hundred years ago 240
14. Courtesans making their toilettes 256
15. Guests making their toilettes preparatory to
leaving the house 288
16. Illuminated lanterns in the Naka-no-cho 320
17. Introduction of Courtesans to Guests 336
18. Niwaka-odori procession passing by a tea-house 352
19. Crowds visiting the "Tori-no-machi" 384
20. A Fire in the Yoshiwara 400